


can you hear me?

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, Polyamory, if that's a thing, marknomin, not tagged but, renhyuck if you squint, soulmate thoughts, the superior ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: In a world where soulmates could hear each other’s thoughts until they met, Jeno didn’t think he was anything special until he began to hear not just one, buttwovoices in his head.





	can you hear me?

**Author's Note:**

> Back again with a Marknomin fic where the title is from Drippin' lyrics ~~i really reached for it watch me make a marknomin fic for every line in the song~~ This is one of those fics that just sorta wrote itself along the way once I got the idea for it, so I wasn't sure where I was going until I got there, but I think it turned out okay and I really enjoyed writing it. It ended up much much MUCH longer than anticipated.
> 
> I also have more drafts that need polishing and even more fics yelling to be updated. Again, woops.

_Oh shoot, I’m late for class._

 

Ever since Jeno turned 17, he began to experience what most people did when they were lucky enough to have a soulmate. He didn’t believe in it at first, especially since the concept was hard to grasp; until he began to hear thoughts in his head that _definitely_ didn’t belong to him and _only_ when he was in school. Being the smart boy that he was, Jeno eventually placed two and two together and came up with the only logical conclusion:

 

1\. He had a soulmate.

 

2\. His soulmate went to the same university as him.

 

Which was great, really, it narrowed things down to an extent. Except the students of NCT Academy were limitless in number, plus all he got in a day would be a few stray thoughts here and there, hardly anything concrete. Jeno wasn’t exactly in a hurry to meet his soulmate or anything, but it would be nice, especially since the thoughts were supposed to go away once they met. He wasn’t really keen on the fact that _his_ soulmate heard _his_ thoughts as well.

 

Most days, the random thoughts he received from his soulmate were pretty boring.

 

Just everyday stuff that even Jeno thought about, too. He figured that was fair, since his soulmate probably got his fair share of Jeno’s mundane thoughts. As a student who was aiming for top grades, his thoughts whenever he was in school consisted mainly of homework and school lessons. Sometimes, he did feel sorry for his soulmate, but then again. If he was ever going to spend forever with someone, it should be someone who understood him well, right?

 

At least the thoughts stopped whenever he was back home. Jeno didn’t think he would be comfortable with anybody hearing his more private thoughts, even if it were his soulmate, and his mind did tend to think about anything and everything once he was in the comfort of his bedroom. He was also sure he didn’t need to hear what went on with his soulmate all the time, too. The entire thing was just meant to help them find one another, after all.

 

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Jeno has also gone an entire year without meeting his soulmate.

 

“Anything new today, Jeno?” His best friend, Renjun, asked him immediately upon seeing each other. Even if it was just the first week back in school, the two met up often enough during the break for the Chinese boy to be updated with things happening in Jeno’s life. Other than one instance wherein Jeno was at the city mall and he heard a distant whisper in his head, he had no luck with his soulmate, but he expected _something_ to happen since they were back in school.

 

The brunette shrugged, “I heard him say he was late for class earlier.”

 

“That’s something,” the other boy noted without much enthusiasm. “Have you tried talking to him yet like I suggested?”

 

“How again, exactly?” Jeno questioned back. “We’ve been through this.”

 

They’ve talked about possibly communicating with his soulmate from the very start of Jeno hearing the thoughts in his head. Renjun said that whenever Jeno caught on to something, that he should try to focus on projecting his thoughts towards his soulmate and hope they can actually converse. Unfortunately, during the few times Jeno tried to do so, he got nothing in return and figured he would never really know when he was still within his soulmate’s range.

 

“It disappears way too quickly. I only ever get, like, one sentence max,” he continued with a small frown. 

 

Renjun gave him the same disappointed stare he always gave whenever Jeno couldn’t come up with a decent update on his love life. 

 

It wasn’t like Jeno _didn’t_ want to meet his soulmate, though. Sure, he wasn’t in as much of a rush as most people are, but he did know that he wanted to meet the boy behind the random thoughts in his head eventually. From what he gathered, his soulmate was most likely older than him since last year the voice in his head would complain about choosing a major, something that only sophomores had to deal with.

 

_I wonder if the studio is free._

 

Eventually, Jeno concluded his soulmate chose a music major.

 

Since his soulmate was a year older, the chances of them sharing a class was pretty slim unless Jeno decided to go for music, too. He still wasn’t sure. On one hand, the brunette did enjoy music and especially dancing _a lot;_ it was something he did during his free time that just turned into a sort of passion. On the other hand, his family expected him to go the medicine route ever since he was in high school. He had the brains for it, after all. 

 

Sometimes, he wanted to meet his soulmate just so he could ask for advice.

 

“I have another year to try and meet my soulmate,” Jeno eventually told Renjun as they made their way to their only shared class for the semester. “Maybe I’ll be lucky this time.”

 

“Do or do not, there is no try,” the blonde replied immediately.

 

“Nerd.”

 

“You’re the nerd, remember? I prefer the word _geek_.”

 

Before Jeno could think of a comeback for what Renjun just said, there was a very distinct voice in his head that didn’t belong to him. Apparently, his soulmate was worrying about whether he had enough time to run to his next class when it was all the way on the other side of campus. The flow of worried thoughts continued until Jeno had to block them out himself, a bubble of panic arising within him, his heart suddenly racing. 

 

The voice he heard wasn’t familiar.

 

“Renjun,” he whispered, trying to will himself not to think about how much he was panicking; Jeno knew his soulmate—it had to be his soulmate, even if he wasn’t quite sure yet—would hear it, too. He pulled his friend inside their classroom quickly and made a beeline for the back seats. Normally, he chose the seats up front so he could listen better, but Jeno needed to be able to talk to Renjun properly.

 

The blonde looked at him, alarmed, “what? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

 

“I just heard something,” Jeno replied, trying to calm himself down.

 

“Your soulmate.”  


“Yes, but—“ He paused, willing himself to listen to his thoughts again. After a moment of silence, Jeno picked up on the same voice. It was both deeper yet lighter than the voice he had grown used to over the year, which meant it _definitely_ belonged to someone else, but that just didn’t make sense. He had _just_ heard his soulmate earlier that day. Still, the new voice in his head was just as clear, if not clearer than ever. 

 

Jeno blocked the thoughts out again, “but the voice is different. As in, I think it’s a different person.”

 

_Oh, this must be my classroom._

 

He received a confused look in return.

 

“That’s not possible,” Renjun said, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Or well, maybe it is, I don’t really know any soulmate specifics.”

 

Before the two could continue on the topic any further, the bell rang, and soon more students piled into the classroom, followed by their professor. Renjun gave him a look that said they were definitely going to talk about it some more later, while Jeno debated with himself about whether he actually heard what he thought he heard. He decided it was a topic for some other time; as much as he wanted to worry about the fate of his soulmate, he _was_ in class, after all.

 

“I’m going to need a class assistant,” his chemistry professor was saying. That was usually Jeno’s cue to wait until the man called for volunteers, raise his arm, and get the position, which was exactly what he did. He needed all the extra points in class he could get. Eventually, he was asked to move his seat to the empty one up front, just so the teacher could interact with him better, which suited Jeno just fine.

 

_Wow, that boy is really cute._

 

_Focus_ , Jeno tried telling himself, but he knew it was a lost cause the moment he heard that voice in his head again. Compared to the first voice, it was clear that whoever this one was, he was just around the area since Jeno still received fairly frequent thoughts. Maybe they were even in the same room, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up. He still needed a name and a face to match the voice, anyway.

 

_Are you talking to me, soulmate?_

 

The voice in his head seemed to be even clearer and louder than before, even if Jeno knew it was impossible to actually adjust the volume of one’s thoughts. Shortly after the mini heart attack _that_ induced, Jeno was left thinking that Renjun’s little theory was apparently correct. It was just his luck that _this_ soulmate of his was within the vicinity, even if the other boy was also thinking about other cute boys, which Jeno decided not to dwell on. 

 

_No, but you should focus as well,_ he tested, waiting only a few seconds before he got a quick reply.

 

_Are you jealous? Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re stunning._

 

Maybe it was the fact that it was his soulmate talking to him or maybe it was just because Jeno wasn’t used to such blatant flirting; either way, the brunette was left nearly writing down the wrong thing on his notes. Jeno wasn’t sure how near they had to be and just how much they shared to each other, but he could have sworn that if his embarrassment was felt by his soulmate, then the smug feeling he got back belonged to nobody else.

 

When the bell rang again and class was dismissed, Jeno immediately scanned the area.

 

_I really want to meet you, but I have to rush to my next class._

 

That was fair, Jeno had to admit, as he remembered what he picked up from earlier. The boy had to literally run to the other side if he wanted to make it in time, anyway. He understood that more than anybody, and was actually slightly pleased that his soulmate didn’t like being late, too. His musing was interrupted by Renjun tugging at his shirt sleeve impatiently.

 

“I saw your facial expressions earlier,” the other boy said immediately. “You talked to your soulmate, didn’t you? That also means I’m right, aren’t I? I know the answer to both is yes, but the real question is—“

 

“I don’t know who he is,” Jeno cut him off, earning another unamused stare. “He had to rush to class.”

 

The Chinese boy sighed, “and let me guess, your nerdy little heart is happy about that?”

 

“You bet.”

 

Thankfully, both boys had a free period next, which meant Jeno was able to discuss more theories with Renjun to pass time. The two holed themselves up in the library with soulmate books around them and random websites open on the library computer, trading information they got, and overall taking things way more seriously than they should have. Jeno liked it just fine, though, since trying to figure out the reason behind the two voices in his head made him forget about panicking over it.

 

“Oh, this seems promising,” Renjun said half an hour into reading a book that had an early record of soulmate thoughts. “This one guy had a total of four voices in his head. He even had it checked by a bunch of doctors, only to realize that the voices stopped with each doctor he visited. Turns out, all those doctors were his soulmate. Freaky, huh?”

 

“So multiple voices mean multiple soulmates?” Jeno asked, receiving a nod in return. “Were his soulmates also soulmates with each other?”

 

“At least two were, but the others were linked only to the first guy.”

 

So it was possible his soulmates only heard one voice in their head while Jeno was stuck with both of them? How did that even work? He knew he wouldn’t be able to choose just one; even just the thought of it left a weird pang in his chest. Which meant that Jeno had to hope that his soulmates also liked each other. Suddenly, he really wished he knew who they were already, so it would get rid of most of his concerns.

 

The rest of Jeno’s day went without any stray thoughts entering his head. Normally, he didn’t really keep track of it, but after the events earlier that day Jeno found himself blanking out just so he could listen for any voices. He heard nothing from either of his soulmates, which made him momentarily sad. Statistically, he knew he now had more chances of finding at least one of his soulmates compared to before, but the school remained too crowded to really tell.

 

He was ready to give up for the day, just as he decided to drop by the convenience store on the way home for some milk.

 

_There’s so much cereal to choose from._

 

Jeno froze, nearly dropping the carton of milk he had in his hand.

 

It was the music major soulmate. Once again he wished he actually had a name to match the voice, but one’s name and other information usually couldn’t be transferred that way. Jeno found that bit odd when he first found out and tried to constantly chant his name in his head. If the thoughts were there so they could find each other, why would there suddenly be a rule against making the whole thing immensely easier?

 

Anyway, that aside, Jeno was pretty sure his soulmate—one of them at least—was in the same convenience store as he was.

 

_Oh, he must be here._

 

Without giving it much thought, Jeno began to walk his way towards the cereal aisle, heart pounding in his chest. His soulmate _had_ to still be there, right? They had just been thinking about which cereal to get only moments ago. Right before Jeno reached aisle 29, home of the cereals, he could already hear two very distinct voices. One that was loud and clearly complaining about something, while the other was smooth and gentle, maybe even a little bit amused.

 

Smooth, gentle, and way too familiar.

 

“I swear, Mark, all of these taste the same so just _pick one_ already!”

 

“Wait, Hyuck, I’m pretty sure my soulmate is here.”

 

“You mean—“

 

His friend—Lee Donghyuck, Jeno realized, someone he’s been classmates with before—paused just as the brunette rounded the corner and stood in front of the cereal aisle. Jeno shifted his attention from Donghyuck to the boy who stood next to him. His soulmate, Mark the music major, merely stared back at him with wide eyes, a small smile growing on his lips. He also had the softest looking black hair Jeno has ever seen. 

 

_Finally._

 

“Hi,” Jeno breathed out after a few seconds of awkward silence. 

 

“My name is Mark,” the other boy said immediately. “I guess this means I won’t hear you in my head complaining about math anymore.”

 

“I guess not,” the brunette replied, torn between being glad Mark remembered tiny details about him and embarrassment that it had to be that particular thought he remembered. Jeno introduced himself shortly after, which caused a mild headache that only lasted a split second. He didn’t need to do more research to know that the pain was caused by their soulmate link breaking, which meant he could freely think about just how handsome the other boy was.

 

Just to test it out, Jeno began to think about random animals, waiting to see if Mark would react.

 

“Are you thinking of something specific right now?” The older boy asked excitedly, catching Jeno by surprise for a moment, who began to wonder if the link was still there. “I can’t hear anything, but I can kind of feel you concentrating.”

 

“Even _I_ could tell he was concentrating when he got all quiet,” Donghyuck piped up, rolling his eyes slightly. 

 

The other boy merely elbowed Donghyuck in response, “stop spoiling things because you’re jealous you haven’t met your soulmate yet.”

 

“It’s not fair! You’re the _last_ person I expected to have _two_ soulmates—“

 

“Wait,” Jeno blurted out immediately. “You hear someone else, too?”

 

A look of relief washed over Mark’s face, almost as if he was worried about telling Jeno that bit of information, which made sense. Jeno himself was worrying over the same detail just hours earlier and now here he was, having met one of his soulmates and finding out they all shared a mutual third person. At least this way it felt less like cheating and more like just having more love to give. Well, that’s if the missing soulmate matched Mark’s. Otherwise, they were going to end up much more confused than before.

 

“Yeah, I was really confused when I started hearing both of you in my head,” Mark explained. “But I met Jaemin some time last year. He’s never mentioned hearing someone else, though.”

 

“That might be because we crossed paths for the first time just earlier today.”

 

Jeno repeated the names in his head, trying his best not to break into a wide smile, even if he figured the smile on his face couldn’t get any bigger. Mark and Jaemin. Jaemin and Mark. Even if he has yet to meet Jaemin, based from the way the other boy flirted with him earlier, Jeno could already tell that Jaemin was the soulmate he had to be careful around. He had a weak resolve to begin with. 

 

“He’ll probably tell me later when his classes end,” the older boy replied thoughtfully, before shaking his head. “Do you know he has straight classes today? He runs on, like, 8 shots of coffee per day but Wednesdays are the worst.” 

 

“That can’t be healthy,” Jeno said worriedly. 

 

“I know! I keep telling him—“

 

“This is so sweet and all,” Donghyuck spoke up again. For a moment, both boys had almost forgotten he was there since the other boy wandered around the store for a moment, only just returning. He sighed heavily. “Both of you can find Jaemin’s coffee addiction precious together _after_ Mark and I rush back to the dorms because we have dance practice and Ten _will_ skin us alive if we’re late.” 

 

Jeno nodded before Mark could begin to apologize, “no, yeah, it’s fine. At least now I know who to look out for. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

In the end, Mark still apologized profusely, stopping only when Donghyuck began to physically drag him out of the store. The two chucked a few random boxes of cereal inside their shopping basket, leaving Jeno to go back to buying his groceries. He made a mental note to call his mom and explain why he would be a little late heading home, when a much more important thought occurred to him.

 

He didn’t get Mark’s contact number.

 

Not just that, but he also didn’t get Jaemin’s full name either. Actually, not even Mark’s for that matter. The other two boys had already left before he remembered about it. Jeno wondered briefly if he could ask Donghyuck for the information, but they weren’t classmates that semester and he wasn’t sure if they had any mutual friends. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure if he got more or less problems after meeting Mark.

 

The next day, Jeno promptly reported to Renjun, who asked about his soulmate as a joke pretty much daily. Needless to say, the Chinese boy wasn’t expecting the positive response. Shortly after Jeno then added that he didn’t know how to contact Mark again, the brunette also received a rather pointed remark from his best friend. Renjun’s words were sharp on a normal basis, but Jeno has never heard him sound _that_ exasperated before.

 

“And now you can’t ever hear him in your head anymore,” Renjun finally ended, shaking his head. “Lee Jeno, you’re supposed to be smart.”

 

“I’ve thought it through!” Jeno defended because he was in fact, a smart boy. That and he may have spent most of last night thinking about his possible options instead of doing some advanced reading for class. Granted, he didn’t have to study for anything yet, really. With that, hewalked Renjun through his game plan and was surprised to find the other boy actually nodding to what he was saying.

 

“That sounds fine,” the blonde agreed. “You just have to wait until tomorrow’s chem class to contact Jaemin again. How did the two of them meet anyway?”

 

Jeno shrugged, “I’ll find out eventually.”

 

His plan was simple enough and fairly foolproof, if he had to say so himself. If anything, he was sure that Jaemin was around the area whenever he had chemistry. All he had to do was communicate with him and meet up before the boy could race off to his next class. Hopefully he didn’t have a full load _every_ day, otherwise Jeno was going to seriously question him. Even he didn’t risk taking too many classes. 

 

_Should I buy something to eat before class?_

 

The sudden intrusion made Jeno pause in his step, which didn’t go unnoticed by Renjun.

 

“What? You heard him?” The blonde asked, looking around before turning his attention to Jeno. “Don’t just stand there like a fool, think of something!”

 

_Hey Jaemin_ , Jeno tried. He waited for a moment, still standing in the middle of campus with his best friend more excited than ever, and was about to give up until he felt something similar to surprise course through him. It was followed by mixed emotions before amusement filtered through, stronger than the rest. He also knew that for emotions to be felt, they must have been pretty near each other.

 

_Mark told me about you._

 

“Well?”

 

“He says that Mark mentioned me already,” Jeno spoke quickly, glancing around and trying to catch a glimpse of Jaemin. He didn’t know how the other boy looked like yet, but he figured he would just _know_ upon first sight. Something about Mark drew him in immediately; it was probably going to be the same for Jaemin, as sappy as that sounded. They weren’t bonded for no reason, after all.

 

_Looking for me, Jeno?_

 

_Yes_ , he thought immediately before he could regret it. Jeno’s own embarrassment at answering so quickly was drowned out by the sheer bliss he felt from Jaemin; wherever the other boy was, he must have been way closer than Jeno expected. Since they still haven’t actually met in person though, the link remained even if they already knew of each other, something Jeno grew increasingly grateful for.

 

_You really are cute, but I have to go. Don’t worry, you’ll meet me soon._

 

Jeno huffed in frustration, but his cheeks were tinted pink, “he has class. I think he’s gone now, I can’t feel or hear anything anymore.”

 

“This one’s hard to get, huh?” Renjun teased. “It took you over a year to meet Mark and suddenly this one wants to play chase. Good luck, Jeno.”

 

“You’ll deal with this eventually,” the brunette teased back. 

 

Whenever the topic wasn’t Jeno’s bad luck with finding his soulmates, the two talked about Renjun’s lack of one. The other boy knew he had one, at least, even if he’s never heard his soulmate exactly. Based on his research, the random feelings he got out of the blue was one of the more subtle signs of having a soulmate. Renjun liked to believe he was a calm boy at best, sohis random spikes of energy were probably from someone else.

 

Now that Jeno could no longer hear Mark’s thoughts, he found himself slightly missing it. Sure, he gained Jaemin’s just recently, but he’s also grown used to the things he picked up from Mark now and then. Sometimes, he would even be lucky enough to hear Mark working on a song. The thoughts he received from Jaemin were always quick and fleeting, despite actually conversing with him. Jeno wasn’t sure which one he enjoyed more.

 

Eventually, the day ended without either Mark or Jaemin showing up again.

 

At some point, Jeno felt more impatient than ever.

 

It was like his soulmates were so close yet so far at the same time. He found himself being more conscious of his thoughts and even what he’s thinking, just in case he could pick up on Jaemin again, but with no such luck. He would also be on the lookout for a head of soft, black hair, but even after voluntarily hanging around the music rooms, he eventually had to leave and go home without seeing Mark around. 

 

By Friday, Jeno was basically vibrating with energy when he reached his chemistry class.

 

“You’re being way too obvious,” Renjun noted with amusement. “What if he’s actually in our classroom instead of just nearby?”

 

“Makes it easier for me,” the brunette replied sincerely.

 

Soon, more students began to enter the classroom, just as Jeno took his seat up front. He trained his eyes on the door, watching and waiting for that _one_ person, just in case Renjun was right once more. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was, honestly, Renjun was scarily accurate at times. He didn’t think Jaemin would be the type to be late to class either, judging by how much the other boy has rushed so far. 

 

_You’re right._

 

After that, everything happened both too quickly and too slowly, all at once and as if it was in slow motion. Jeno’s focus went back to the door just as a boy with bubblegum pink hair walked in, a dazzling smile already on his face. Their eyes met immediately; the agonizingly slow part would be how long it took the boy to walk up to where Jeno was seated, never once breaking eye contact.

 

“You _are_ stunning,” Jaemin said as a form of greeting, smiling cheekily as Jeno resembled a fish out of water, opening his mouth to speak only to close it again. “Can I sit next to you?”

 

“Of course,” the other boy finally managed to say. 

 

“Can I sit next to you forever?”

 

“ _Jaemin_ ,” Jeno couldn’t help but whine, earning him a delighted laugh from the pink haired boy, who then said something along the lines of liking how his name sounded from Jeno’s lips. That resulted in more blushing from the brunette, who could also feel Renjun judging him from the back of the class. He would deal with that later. First he needed to find a way to calm his heart down. He knew he was right when he told himself to be careful around Jaemin.

 

The boy didn’t stop smiling, “I should introduce myself properly, then. I’m Na Jaemin.”

 

“Lee Jeno.”

 

“I heard you met Mark yesterday,” he continued, taking his phone out of his pocket. Something about his eyes seemed to sparkle, but maybe Jeno was seeing things. “He called me up immediately after dance practice, only to sulk about not getting your number since Donghyuck nagged him for forgetting, so I guess it’s up to _me_ to be our saving grace.”

 

They exchanged numbers right before the professor entered. Jeno saved his name on Jaemin’s phone normally, but when he got his phone back, he found that Jaemin had decided to give himself a cute nickname with a matching heart to boot. He even took the liberty to add Mark’s number, which he had memorized to Jeno’s surprise, and if he held onto Jeno’s hand for longer than necessary when he gave the phone back, neither boy mentioned it. 

 

Surprisingly, Jeno found it much easier to focus in class despite Jaemin’s presence next to him, but he decided it was because Jaemin was just as focused. 

 

And _yes_ , he could already predict Renjun would scoff at him and call him a nerd again because of it, but Jeno couldn’t help it.

 

Once class ended, Jaemin had to run to his next class again, but he mentioned having free time later that day. The two boys agreed to meet then, with Jaemin bringing Mark along if he could. The pink haired boy also gave Jeno a quick hug before he fled the room, leaving the brunette standing still in front of his seat until Renjun came over to physically shake him out of it.

 

“Well, _that_ was eventful,” the blonde commented. “I saw _everything_ happen from where I was seated.”

 

“He wants us to meet up later. All of us, with Mark. I’m kind of nervous,” Jeno couldn’t help but say, tugging at the hem of his shirt out of habit. He’s met both of them already, but he just felt like Jaemin and Mark already had a dynamic going on since they’ve met each other earlier. What if he was the awkward third wheel, despite all of them being soulmates? He didn’t think they would allow that, but he worried nonetheless.

 

“I’d go with you, but I have that play audition later,” Renjun said apologetically, followed by some words of reassurance that Jeno desperately needed to hear.

 

Eventually, Jaemin texted him later that afternoon about meeting at the coffee shop near campus, along with how Mark would already be there by then. By that time, Jeno was feeling fairly less nervous and a lot more excited. As he made his way to the store, he thought about how little he knew about both of his soulmates again. He shook himself out of it by thinking that well, he had time to get to know them now, right?

 

It wasn’t hard to spot Jaemin’s bright hair, but it did help that he was also wildly waving his arms when Jeno entered.

 

“Jeno! I missed you!” He greeted happily.

 

Beside him, Mark chuckled when he caught the look on Jeno’s face, “you get used to it.”

 

The brunette felt his blush deepen. For some reason, his earlier worries began to flit back into his mind. He knew Mark’s words were harmless, but it just made him think again about the time the two have already spent. What if they already had a good dynamic going on and Jeno just didn’t fit? It made his stomach churn just thinking about not being liked by either boy, especially since he’s just met them.

 

“I don’t have to hear your thoughts to _feel_ your worry,” Jaemin suddenly said, dragging the brunette to sit specifically in between them. “If you worry too much, your handsome face will get ugly wrinkles.”

 

“Sorry,” Jeno said sheepishly, willing the negative thoughts away. The other boy had wrapped his arm around Jeno’s when he was pulled to sit down, but even when they were already seated, Jaemin remained clinging onto him. The small contact made him feel slightly more relaxed as he spoke again. “I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

 

“I think we’ll be okay,” Mark commented. “I was initially worried about having two soulmates, too, but after finally meeting you—“

 

“It feels like everything’s finally in place,” Jaemin finished for him, smiling as he made eye contact with the older boy. “You wouldn’t _believe_ how many times we’ve said that something felt missing since we haven’t met you yet, even before I first heard you.”

 

“Yeah, what he said.”

 

With that, Jeno felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, and all it took was a few minutes with his soulmates to make him feel better. It might have helped that they could tell what he felt, but Jeno was sure that the joy he felt that afternoon was one shared by all three of them. Jaemin’s arm remained wrapped around his for most of the day as the three traded information and random stories, bits and pieces of their lives that felt relevant for the other to know.

 

After Jeno told them about Renjun, he asked about Donghyuck and how he became friends with Mark, earning a chuckle from the raven haired boy.

 

“I knew him even before he started studying here,” he recalled with a fond grin. “I was at the record store nearby picking out albums when I heard him _screaming_ about getting a Michael Jackson album. After that, we met again at the dance club, same day I met Jaemin.”

 

“Do you dance, Jeno? You look like you’d be great at it,” Jaemin asked, peering into Jeno’s eyes like he could see the other boy’s soul. 

 

The brunette wouldn’t be surprised at all if he could.

 

Eventually, Jeno couldn’t hide the fact that he _sometimes_ danced from the other two, which meant their next meeting was going to be that weekend at the dance studio. After momentarily considering whether he would have enough time to study if he also joined the dance team, Jeno figured it was also more time spent with his soulmates, so that was a pretty worthy sacrifice to make. Their little meeting ( _date_ , Jaemin insisted) ended when Mark had to leave for class.

 

This time, when they all parted ways since Jaemin also had to go home, Jeno was a little less surprised about the peck on the cheek he got from the pink haired boy.

 

“Expect more of those,” Jaemin said as he pulled away, before doing the same to Mark, who jokingly tried to dodge it. 

 

Overall, things felt okay. It might be a bit too much to say that things felt perfect, if Jeno had to admit, but things were definitely okay. Maybe more than okay. While he knew he would still have some minor worries here and there, his soulmates would also be quick to get rid of those worries. He just _knew_ , since he could also easily admit he would do the same for either of the other two boys. 

 

Later that evening, Jeno suggested eating dinner out with Renjun, since the latter demanded updates.

 

“And that’s how it went,” the brunette finished, taking longer than he expected since Renjun would make comments here and there. Despite how the other boy listened intently, it was also clear that something was bothering him. Jeno could tell by how antsy Renjun was acting, even without knowing that he had something to say. “You told me you had something to share too, right?”

 

“I heard my soulmate for the first time earlier during auditions” Renjun was finally able to say, angrily poking at his spaghetti with a fork, which wasn’t what Jeno expected to hear. Not just because the boy’s soulmate had been nonexistent till then, but since the blonde was reacting in such a way. “I wish I didn’t. He kept singing Michael Jackson songs, I could barely concentrate when I was doing my piece. I didn’t meet him, though. Who would be _that_ obsessed?”

 

“Oh,” Jeno tried his best not to smile too widely, “I _might_ be able to help with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> yeah that was lowkey renhyuck at the end because they make me happy, too. also!!! i'm thinking of doing a few follow up pieces like drabbles to this one featuring domestic marknomin.
> 
> twt @stilljunhui (hmu if u wanna yell about marknomin / nct in general)
> 
> If you like my work and would like to support me, please consider buying me coffee! https://ko-fi.com/stilljunhui


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